Does anyone actually use the "AI features" in apps that clearly bolted them on last minute?
First post here. Been browsing Product Hunt for a while without an account and finally made one.
I keep noticing apps adding an AI button to something that didn't need one. A calendar app with "AI scheduling." A to-do list with "AI prioritization." A notes app with "AI summaries." Most of the time I poke at it once, it does something vaguely fine, and then I go back to using the app exactly the way I did before. The button just sits there.
I'm not against AI features. Some of them are genuinely good and I use them. But there's a difference between a tool that was built around it and a tool that stuck a chat box on top because it was trendy. From the listing alone, those two look identical.
Curious if anyone else feels this. What's an AI feature you actually use regularly, versus one you tried once and forgot about? And does a listing mentioning AI make you more likely to try something, or less at this point?
Replies
The funniest part is when I forget the app even has an AI feature after trying it once. If it becomes part of my normal workflow, that's when I know it's actually useful.
For me, the difference is pretty simple: does Ai help me get something done faster, or am I just clicking it because it says AI? If it's the second one, I usually go straight back to the old workflow.
I could be wrong, but having AI in your product could be similar to the .com era where you just wanted a website as riding the trend could get you big money.
I tried a cool product the other day called quiet hint or silent hint which used AI to give you meeting hints and that was really nice that you forgot it was AI giving you the hints, you just saw it as someone helping you answer questions and keep up with a meeting.
My perspective is good AI, like good technology, does what it does without being loud. I look at how Google integrated gemini into their natural search experience, autocomplete intelligence on code editors, image tools on iPhone as hints towards a nice AI experience.